This Week’s Hottest Property News – 09.06.2017

House prices: the cost of first-time buyer homes is falling, while family homes are seeing the biggest rises – Evening Standard

Is this some good news for first time buyers at long last? The UK’s housing crisis has crept up on the family homemarket, with new research showing that homeowners with children under 11, are the most likely to move home compared to the average person.

A recent report reveals asking house prices are continuing to rise across the UK, for the fifth consecutive month.

Following annual rises of three per cent, houses are now being listed for sale for a national average of £317,000.

Don’t let UK profiteering landlords set generations against one another – The Guardian

Landlords are under fire as they are accused of rigging the UK’s housing market and pitting generations against each other for affordable homes.

Britain’s housing crisis is often understood as a clash of generations, and it’s easy to see why.

Millionaires tell us that young people could buy a house if they eat less avocado toast. House prices have soared by up to 600% in recent years, and endless articles aimed at middle-aged speculators explain why this is fantastic. Now, we have homes exclusively for over-55s wanting to retire in central-ish London.

But in the same way as spuriously linking migrants to housing shortages, turning the crisis into a generational contest can only lead to a race to the bottom. It elides the real problem, which is that we have a market not just skewed towards landlords, but rigged by and for them.

Rents follow house prices and show first fall since 2009 crisis – The Telegraph

For the first time in eight years rents are consistently falling which suggests that the property market is slowing down for both Buy-To-let investors and renters.

Oversupply of new properties in one area of south west London have caused ‘asking rents to drop 6pc in three months’.

Rents are falling year-on-year for the first time in eight years, adding to the picture of a rapidly cooling property market for both owners and tenants.

While some regions are still posting small gains in rents, the average change across the country is now negative for the first time since December 2009, according to the latest regular analysis by Homelet, the agency.

It describes this finding as a ” significant moment” for the housing market.

House prices:how will the election impact the property market? – Evening Standard

With the housing crisis not letting up any time soon, this is a key issue for the major political parties to tackle in order to gain votes, but will it truly impact on house prices?

House price growth is slowing – how much is this to do with the upcoming election and what are the other factors in play?

Despite the ‘housing crisis’ being a key issue on the political agenda, the snap election is expected to have little impact on the property market, according to a new report.

While house prices have dropped for the third consecutive month for the first time since 2009 – and now average £207,699 across the UK* – this is most likely to be due to broader economic effects, says Nationwide’s chief economist Robert Gardner, who compiled the research.

Research reveals exactly why tenants lose all or part of their deposits – LandlordToday.com

With many tenants worried about losing their deposits once they move out, new research reveals the main reasons why this happens, and where they can claw back some of their hard earned cash.

Research has revealed the top reasons tenants lose some or all of their deposits when they check out.

The survey of 2,588 tenants, conducted for interiors company Hillarys, shows widespread scepticism about the deposits system from tenants, with 81 per cent of respondents claiming landlords or their agents ‘searched’ for a reason not to return the deposit.

Some 29 per cent of tenants admitted having their deposits withheld at check out, with the main reasons cited being broken furniture (29 per cent), marks on walls (24 per cent), carpet stains (21 per cent), a need for redecoration (12 per cent) and mould (nine per cent).

If you have a garden and are thinking of selling your home, make sure you find out exactly which improvements can add value to your property!

Prospective property buyers have a surging appetite for outdoor space, as 37% of Brits spend more time in their garden than they did five years ago.

Research has revealed that a garden can add anywhere between 5-20% to a property’s value. In light of this, Sellhousefast.uk decided to consult 36 different estate agents, garden designers and property professionals (investors and consultants) from around the UK to find out how homeowners can beneficially make the most of their outdoor space to maximise the value of their property.

Garden features were ranked and experts revealed the following: A decent-sized shed (82%) was the most popular cited feature to add value to a property. This was closely followed by good quality paving/patio (76%) and then, secure fencing/walls/gates (72%). The lowest ranking garden feature to add value to a property was artificial grass/lawn at (40%).